Gem

“ Many a miserable thought, such as men have stumbled upon from age to age, did he now rake up again, and gloat over it as an inestimable gem, a diamond, a treasure far preferable to those bright, spiritual revelations of a better world, which are like precious stones from heaven's pavement. ”

“ All the breath and the bloom of the year in the bag of one bee:
All the wonder and wealth of the mine in the heart of one gem:
In the core of one pearl all the shade and the shine of the sea:
Breath and bloom, shade and shine,—wonder, wealth, and—how far above them—
Truth, that's brighter than gem,
Trust, that's purer than pearl,—
Brightest truth, purest trust in the universe—all were for me
In the kiss of one girl. ”

“ I held a jewel in my fingers
And went to sleep.
The day was warm, and winds were prosy;
I said: "'T will keep."
I woke and chid my honest fingers, —
The gem was gone;
And now an amethyst remembrance
Is all I own. ”

“ His chief point was that a gem-expert and art-amateur like me, knowing that he was to inherit one of the finest and most carefully chosen collections of gems and art objects in all the world, would be the last man on earth to allow it to be disturbed, let alone to plot its ransacking, the pillage of its cases and the dispersal of their precious contents. ”

“ The miracle and queen of gems is her beauty, which the commentator might have found without so emphatical an enquiry. As to her mind, he that should be captious would say, that though it may be formed by nature it must be pranked by education.
Shakespeare does not say that nature pranks her in a miracle, but in the miracle of gems, that is, in a gem miraculously beautiful. ”

“ Were our situations reversed, I would, without a moment's hesitation, lay all that I possessed at her feet, and think myself the most honoured, the most fortunate of men if I could obtain a gem whose intrinsic value requires not the aid of a gold setting. ”

“ If they ask me why I wear so regal a gem, and where I got it, I tell them that I am not quite sure that the jewel is mine, and that if I ever find the person who seems to have a better right to it than I, I shall give it up. ”

“ It is a gem which hath the power to show
If plighted lovers keep their faith, or no:
If faithful, it is like the leaves of spring;
If faithless, like those leaves when withering. ”

“ What gem hath dropped and sparkles o'er his chain?
The tear most sacred—shed for others' pain—
That starts at once—bright—pure—from Pity's mine,
Already polish'd by the hand divine! ”

“ Let us clear our minds of this cant, and once more admit, as the student of literature always has to remind himself, that a sapphire and diamond ring is not less beautiful because it is not a marble palace, or a bank of wild flowers in a wood because it is not a garden after the fashion of Lenôtre. In the division of English poetry which we have been reviewing, there are to be found some of the most exquisite examples of the gem and flower order of beauty that can be found in all literature. ”

“ Sweet drop of pure and pearly light!
In thee the rays of Virtue shine;
More calmly clear, more mildly bright,
Than any gem that gilds the mine. ”

“ The jewel, which nothing external can dim, is sensitive to the least change in us. Any infringement of our King's laws, or, especially, any unfaithfulness to our King, dims its lustre at once; any drinking of these forbidden cups of intoxication dries up the crystal fountain; any yielding to the usurper's service blots out from our magic glass its glorious visions, and the sight of our King in his beauty. ”

“ Thy form to please me so,
As when I dreamt of gems and gold
Hid in thy radiant bow?
When Science from Creation’s face
Enchantment’s veil withdraws,
What lovely visions yield their place
To cold material laws! ”

“ You forget that the rays thrown out by one brilliant thought, or one great conception, are possessed of more grandeur and beauty, for the present generation, than all the diamonds and rubies that were so much prized by the ancients. But while we are more alive to the beauties of thought and the gems of intellect, than to any of the so-called jewels, clothing and other treasures of the ancients, we do not despise the beauties of these gems or of this raiment. We look on gold and silver much as we look on lovely flowers without life. ”

“ A Bunch of Roses
etter than gifts of gleaming gold,
Or houses made by hands;
More precious than the glowing gems
Men seek in distant lands;
Breathing of love and purity,
Of constant hearts and true ”

“ It lay more like an emblem than a jewel against her bosom. It never drew your attention from her face, nor dimmed, by contrast, the radiance of her soul-lit eyes. I was charmed, from the beginning, with this young lady. Her thoughts were real gems, rich and rare, and when she spoke there was the flash of diamonds in her sentences; not the flash of mere brilliant sayings, like the gleaming of a polished sword, but of living truths, that lit up with their own pure radiance every mind that received them. ”

“ In all the world those gems had been a subject of romance, and legend had draped their search with a myriad marvels. Poets and fictionists in many tongues had embroidered their gossamer fabric with these exquisite lures, the ornament of beauty, the treasures of queen and odalisque, mondaine and dancer, image and shrine, since humans began to adorn themselves with more delicate things than the skins and teeth of animals. ”

“ Among so many contestants rivalry and emulation had a very happy effect in forming and creating artists who were indeed eminent, and whose works even to-day sparkle as jewel-gems in the diadem which crowns the history of their place in art. ”

“ It is the controller of Nature alone that can bring light out of darkness, and order out of confusion. Who is he that causeth the mole, from his secret path of darkness, to throw up the gem, the gold, and the precious ore? The same that from the mouths of babes and sucklings can extract the perfection of praise, and who can make the most abject of his creatures instrumental in bringing the most hidden truths to light. ”

“ The soul's best treasures, the heart's best gems?
Have you, too, found that you could not supply
The place of those jewels so rare and chaste?
Do all that you borrow or beg or buy
Prove to be nothing but skilful paste?
Have you found pleasure, as I found art,
Not all-sufficient to fill your heart? ”

“ Rich and rare were the gems she wore,
And a bright gold ring on her wand she bore; ”

“ Most of the people of the earth entertain superstitious fancies, and especially invest the gems with spiritual powers or special attributes. Hence the innate love of ornament, combined with the desire of possessing a rare treasure, will always give to the gems a prestige and a commercial value above all other things. ”

“ There is a poet for every palate, and, while we revere the memories and praise the works of those whose names are written on the Scroll of Fame, what have we to say about the many gems that have been written throughout all these poetic eras; gems whose sterling merit has found them a place in many a standard class-book; gems whose genuineness finds them an undeniable place in many a high-class magazine; gems whose worth entitles them to creep into the vagrant corner of a newspaper to enjoy light for, alas! ”

“ Until then we come to you daily, nestling in our sweet, old home, drawing love and sympathy from your souls, bringing peace and affection to crown your spirits. Eight 18jewels [1] flash a radiance of celestial love toward you tonight from this distant place. Eight gems, polished by the hand of the Great Lapidary, shine in the crown of light that awaits you above.”
1. Referring to herself and brothers and sisters in the spirit world. ”

“ The brilliance of the heavenly gems gap only excited their cupidity to a higher pitch,—one loaded himself with a huge rafter,—another groaned under the load of rushes and straw he had piled upon his own back,—and jealousy and anger had their full play amongst them, each one striving to appropriate to himself the largest portion of what appeared inestimable treasures. ”

“ We may take another view of the subject solely with the artistic eye, and find much for enjoyment and contemplation. In the art of ancient times the precious stones played an important part, and by means of the engraved gems we are enabled to form an idea of the wonderful skill of the artists of those periods. ”

“ The sacred books of all the world are worthless dross and common stones compared with Shakespeare's glittering gold and gleaming gems. ”

“ Gold, silver, ivory, vases sculptured high, Paint, marble, gems, and robes of Persian dye, There are who have not--and thank heaven there are, Who, if they have not, think not worth their care, Talk what you will of taste, my friend, you'll find, Two of a face, as soon as of a mind. ”

“ The prevailing reaction against the purely materialistic beliefs so generally accepted a score or more of years ago, finds expression in a marked tendency toward a renewal—in a greatly modified form, of course—of the old fancies or instinctive ideas touching the virtues of gems. ”

“ Oh, fame is as the moon above,
Whose sun of light and life is love.
There is more in the smile of one gentle eye
Than the thousand pages of history;
There is more in the spell of the one slight gaze,
Than the loudest plaudits the crowd can raise.
Take the gems in glory's coronal,
And one smile of beauty is worth them all. ”

“ Let them be sacred! those holy feelings of the pure and high-toned heart; those sweet, ennobling emotions of the unpolluted soul. Let them be sacred! those sensations, intense yet timid, pure and unalloyable as the diamond, as firm, as bright, as unspotted; but which, like a precious jewel that baser minds would ever fain take from us, are wisely concealed by those who possess them from the gaze of the low and the unfeeling. We seek not to display--we would not if we could--all the finer shades, the tenderer emotions, of the love of Theodore and Ildica. ”

“ My Love is very fair:
The gold gleam of the sunset ray
Has nestled in Her hair.
The gold that in the Sun is set
Is all the gold that She will get;
I love her well. But yet. . . . . .but yet. . . . . . ”

“ In such cases, where the art is not recognised, but felt, heart and soul are turned towards the object, one would like to possess the jewel, that one might impart pleasure to others with such a gift. I begged permission to handle the little crown, and as I held it up respectfully in my hand, I could not help thinking that I should like to press it upon the bright, glittering locks of Lili, lead her before the mirror, and witness her own joy in it, and the happiness which she spread around her. ”

“ And marked the great Sun alchemist
⁠Turn all its leaden edge to gold.
Look well, look well, oh lady mine,
⁠The grey below, the gold above,
For so the greyest life may shine
⁠All golden in the light of love. ”

“ Under the velvet petals
Hints of hidden gold.
(And oh! the swift enchantment,
Half pain, half ecstasy,
When Beauty for a moment
Turns and looks our way—
In her eyes the haunting
Old, sweet mystery!) ”

“ How great was that treasure of treasures: and the Helm of Dread was there; The world but in dreams had seen it; and there was the hauberk of gold; None other is in the heavens, nor has earth of its fellow told. ”

“ I saw the gold setting one day when he opened his mouth to laugh. I don’t say for a moment, my dear, there is no such thing as love—love pure, ennobling, worthy of men and women, its roots in the heart and nowhere else. ”

“ The gold and silver shone within the mountain, and the diamonds glistened within the secret mines: so it is with love, who is the fine magician, shewing all the veiled treasures of the heart. How much has love taught me, that is true and beautiful! ”

“ Since that fair night ashine with stars and cold,
When even angels paused their wings to fold—
Love to adore made one with man and beast.
Accept three gifts I to thee gladly bring;
Each hath its own divine significance:
Gold is the Body thou hast crowned a king ”

“ A jewel more precious—the one love of her life—is lost, cruelly crushed—and, with heart all but breaking, she sinks down upon the bench, draws the shawl over her face, and weeps till its rich silken tissue is saturated with her tears. ”

“ It is this passionate sense of the value of things: of the richness of the cosmic treasure: the world where every star is a diamond, every leaf an emerald, every drop of blood a ruby, it is this sense of preciousness that is really awakened by the death of His saints. ”

“ Thus decked with her brightest jewels and adorned with a crown of gold, she waits to meet her lord, to be his 'light of the harem,' his 'sun and moon.' What if we, with our refined aesthetic tastes, what if disinterested spectators, vote her altogether the dullest and most uninteresting of beings? what if she seem to us more like some young animal, magnificently harnessed, waiting to be trotted out to the highest bidder? ”

“ When you listen to his lyric of the diamond in the skies.
With a glimmer that is dimmer than the shimmer of your eyes;
When he tells you where his treasure lies, and other little lies—
⁠Is he really any good, to you? ”

“ At first I was surprised to see such jewels in such a place, staring in dull wonderment while I strove to imagine whence they came, but soon I remembered piece by piece their adventure as has been told to you, and now, with the warm blood in my veins again, I did not throw them by, but lay back against the oak and chuckled to myself as my ambitious heart fluttered with pleasure under my draughty rags, and crossed my legs, and weighed upon my finger-tips, and inventoried, and valued, all in the old merchant spirit, those friendly treasures.
How unchanging are the passions of humanity! ”